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Q: Ty Cobb played in three World Series. How many did his team win, and how many home runs did he hit? -- C.V., El Dorado, Ark.

A: The answer to both questions is zero. His Detroit Tigers lost to the Chicago Cubs in 1907 and 1908, while the following year, they lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates. His batting average for those three series was 0.262.

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Q: When President Ronald Reagan left office, he moved to a multi-million-dollar ranch. I recall that a request was made to the post office for a new house number. Why? -- R.J., Scottsbluff, Neb.

A: The ranch was located at 666 St. Cloud Dr. in the wealthy Bel-Air district of Los Angeles. Many believe that 666 is the number of Satan, so Reagan had his friends send mail to 668 St. Cloud Dr.

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Q: I came across the following on the Internet: "Denver lays claim to the invention of the cheeseburger. The trademark for the name 'cheeseburger' was awarded in 1935 to Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In. Ballast claimed to have come up with the idea while testing hamburger toppings." My question is, is this true? -- M.S., St. Marys, Ohio

A: I called the Denver Tourist Board, and it's true! There is a plaque commemorating the site of the first cheeseburger at 2776 Speer Blvd.

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Q: Suspenders have made a strange evolution from becoming practical to chic. How long have they been holding up the britches of men in the world? -- W.J., Somerset, Ken.

A: Suspenders have been around in some fashion for many years, but Albert Thurston manufactured the first modern versions in the 1820s in England -- they were known there as "braces." Author Samuel Clemens (you might know him as Mark Twain) received a patent for them in 1871.

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Q: The Great Pyramid of Cheops was the tallest man-made structure in the world for thousands of years. Which structure made it the second tallest building? -- I.L., Refugio, Texas

A: At 481 feet tall, the Great Pyramid of Giza -- it is known by both names -- was the world's tallest structure for more than 3,800 years. Then, in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was completed, standing at 1,063 feet tall, making it the world's tallest man-made structure at the time.

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Q: I was in an international grocery store and saw a package of Bombay duck. What is it? -- Y.C., Prince Frederick, Md.

A: Bombay duck is actually dried, salted fish. Indian cooks use it as flavoring. It's also a snack food. How it got its name, no one knows.

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Q: When did Babe Ruth get his first major league home run? -- R.T., Peoria, Ill.

A: On May 6, 1915, wearing a Boston Red Sox uniform, "The Sultan of Swat" knocked his first of 714 round-trippers out of the stadium. The opposing team? The New York Yankees, a team for which he'd play 14 seasons.

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Q: In the program of a play I attended recently, credit was given to a nameless character as the "harridan." In the play, she was an elderly woman with a sharp tongue, always in a bad mood and always interfering in other people's business. She was used as comic relief. What is a harridan? -- S.J., Santa Rosa, Calif.

A: Your explanation was perfect. The word is believed to come from the French word "haridelle," which describes an old horse or woman. The word harridan has been around since the 1700s.

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Q: Who is the Everest of Mount Everest? -- T.D., Ephrata, Pa.

A: Sir George Everest (1790-1866) was a British surveyor. He was the head of the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India and later the Surveyor General in India during the early 19th century.

Everest was relentless in his pursuit of accuracy and often modified or created new equipment to help complete the surveying of the subcontinent. It was his methods that led his successor, Andrew Waugh, to determine the world's highest peak, then called Peak XV. Waugh pushed to change the name to honor Everest, an honor Everest himself did not support.